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AMP Announces Completion of Fremont Energy Center Purchase

Published on: 07/28/2011

(COLUMBUS) American Municipal Power, Inc. (AMP) has announced it has completed the purchase of the Fremont Energy Center from FirstEnergy Generation Corp., a subsidiary of Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE). The over $500 million transaction closed July 28 and ownership of the 707 megawatt (fired) facility has transferred.

AMP and FirstEnergy have been working towards closure since executing an asset purchase agreement in March.

The AMP Fremont Energy Center (AFEC) is a natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) facility, which will supply intermediate power to participating AMP member communities. Intermediate power is energy needed Monday – Friday during the 16 highest demand hours. As an intermediate power source AFEC has a capacity of 544 MW. Additionally, the facility includes duct-firing that allows an additional 163 MW of generation during peak demand periods.

A total of 85 AMP member communities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia are participating in the project and will receive power from the facility. In addition, the Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation is participating in the project; and the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative will receive power from the facility through a purchase power agreement with AMP.

“This facility represents an important component in our members’ power supply portfolio,” said AMP President and CEO Marc Gerken. “As an NGCC facility, AFEC brings increased efficiency, predictable power costs, and a reduction of members’ exposure to the wholesale market. I want to thank our committed team of staff, legal and consultants, and FirstEnergy’s team of professionals who made this smooth acquisition possible. Most importantly, I want to acknowledge and commend the participating member communities for their ability to work with the extremely tight timetable that was unavoidably a part of this project.”

AMP will oversee commissioning and startup of the facility, which is expected to be commercially available by the end of the year. The facility is projected to provide a $500 million savings to participating member communities over 30 years as compared to market.